The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 03, No. 16, February, 1859

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Various. The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 03, No. 16, February, 1859

OUGHT WOMEN TO LEARN THE ALPHABET?

THE MORNING STREET

IN A CELLAR

I

II

HAMLET AT THE BOSTON

EL LLANERO

I. THE HATO

II. EL ARAUSENSE

III. EL TEMBLOR

IV. GUERRA Á LA MUERTE!

V. LIBERTAD

BULLS AND BEARS

CHAPTER XI. SHOWING AT WHAT COST OUR HERO ESCAPED DROWNING

CHAPTER XII. THE BEGINNING OF THE END

CHAPTER XIII. SED REVOCARE GRADUM!—

CHAPTER XIV. EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF

"THE NEW LIFE" OF DANTE

II

THE PHILTER

DID I?

THE MINISTER'S WOOING

CHAPTER VI. THE DOCTOR

CHAPTER VII. THE FRIENDS AND RELATIONS OF JAMES

THE PALM AND THE PINE

THE PROFESSOR AT THE BREAKFAST-TABLE

WHAT HE SAID, WHAT HE HEARD, AND WHAT HE SAW

THE BOYS

WHITE'S SHAKSPEARE.23

NEW PUBLICATIONS

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It was the day of Madame de St. Cyr's dinner, an event I never missed; for, the mistress of a mansion in the Faubourg St. Germain, there still lingered about her the exquisite grace and good-breeding peculiar to the old régime, that insensibly communicates itself to the guests till they move in an atmosphere of ease that constitutes the charm of home. One was always sure of meeting desirable and well-assorted people here, and a contre-temps was impossible. Moreover, the house was not at the command of all; and Madame de St. Cyr, with the daring strength which, when found in a woman at all, should, to be endurable, be combined with a sweet but firm restraint, rode rough-shod over the parvenus of the Empire, and was resolute enough to insulate herself even among the old noblesse, who, as all the world knows, insulate themselves from the rest of France. There were rare qualities in this woman, and were I to have selected one who with an even hand should carry a snuffy candle through a magazine of powder, my choice would have devolved upon her; and she would have done it.

I often looked, and not unsuccessfully, to discern what heritage her daughter had in these little affairs. Indeed, to one like myself Delphine presented the worthier study. She wanted the airy charm of manner, the suavity and tenderness of her mother,—a deficiency easily to be pardoned in one of such delicate and extraordinary beauty. And perhaps her face was the truest index of her mind; not that it ever transparently displayed a genuine emotion,—Delphine was too well-bred for that,—but the outline of her features had a keen, regular precision, as if cut in a gem. Her exquisite color seldom varied, her eyes were like blue steel, she was statue-like and stony. But had one paused there, pronouncing her hard and impassive, he had committed an error. She had no great capability for passion, but she was not to be deceived; one metallic flash of her eye would cut like a sword through the whole mesh of entanglements with which you had surrounded her; and frequently, when alone with her, you perceived cool recesses in her nature, sparkling and pleasant, which jealously guarded themselves from a nearer approach. She was infinitely spirituelle; compared to her, Madame herself was heavy.

.....

"It was indispensable at the time, this sale; I thought best to hazard it on one more season.—If, after such advantages, Delphine will not marry, why—it remains to retire into the country and end our days with the barbarians!" she continued, shrugging her shoulders; "I have a house there."

"But you will not be obliged to throw us all into despair by such a step now," I replied.

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